Secularization and sacralization: a comparative longitudinal analysis of the religious publications of two denominations

Abstract

Two official church publications, as cultural projects of human agents, are analyzed to determine the extent to which they promote sacralism. Qualitative assessment, classification of cover art and investigation of the amount of god language support the notion that some church leadership promotes sacralism more than others. This project is the beginning of a reworking of secularization theory, critiquing the tendency toward reification and shifting the focus to human agency, ascertainable through the cultural products of church leadership.